Blog by Trudy K. Cretsinger

SATURDAY 6-PACK: February 17, 2018

A weekly listing of articles, audio clips, and other tidbits I’ve encountered that seemed interesting, insightful, or otherwise useful

Well … it’s been a week and then some. Hard to remember that a mere seven days ago we were wondering about the drops in the stock market and what that might mean … and the current administration was preparing to focus on infrastructure … while the Senate was having open discussion/debate on immigration proposals (first to reach 60 votes, wins … assuming, of course, something could).

But as the week progressed so did the most recent iteration from the scandal factory (also known as the White House) pushed the planned agenda to the side … and then another unthinkable school shooting happened (something that also occurs with appalling regularity) … and the routine bluster from the current occupant of the Oval Office blew off any chance of a deal on immigration.

So here’s my six (or so) from the week that was — if for nothing more than to call to mind some things we might lose sight of:

1. About that economy … what goes up must come down and, with that being the case, it was inevitable that the stock markets would have to come dons at some point. Things seem to have mostly recovered this week. But given the cyclic nature of economic things, sooner more likely than later, there will be another recession. The damage done to employment in many sectors by the Great Recession is going to compound the troubles of the next. Read this and be forewarned:

2. About that infrastructure … it’s been widely reported that the amount for infrastructure in the proposed budget from the current administrative collective in the White House is far too small to meet the needs. Here’s a good summary of the recent study by the American Society of Civil Engineers of the current state of US infrastructure — and how much it will cost to address those needs:

3. For all kinds of reasons, we do need to talk about the latest mass shooting, this time at a high school in Florida. Yes, it really is about the guns — and this was published three months ago (just click on the Times‘ logo; it will take you there):

4. But there is no one-part solution to this mess. Regulations to improve gun safety are an important piece of it. However, culture change is also required. Here’s one example of how to do that:

5. Not to be overlooked in all of the drama of this week, it’s opening weekend for the latest Marvel superhero movie — The Black Panther. Reviewers are agreeing it’s deserving the hype. However, it’s also more than “just a movie.” Here’s the two-fer for the week: two different perspectives on the cultural impact of this movie in this time:

6. And somewhere in all the mess that was last week, there was Valentine’s Day … yes, it is a largely bogus non-holiday made up for marketing purposes between Christmas and Easter. However, is a day to think about and celebrate love in all it’s forms such a bad thing? Here’s a love story to warm even a skeptic’s heart: